Meditation: Visiting the Red God, Qayin, at Samhain

 Our tradition uses guided meditation to help impress certain symbols on our members' consciousness. Below is our Samhain meditation. It takes place at the Western Gate of the compass, the place of water and sunset.  It is the home of the Witch Father, whom we know as Tubal Qayin, Lucifer, Azazel, Melek Taus. To use this meditation let yourself relax comfortably and picture yourself drifting downward and inward to the third realm, the lower realm. The third realm is a place of darkness and mystery.  Let yourself sink down into the third realm and rest there peacefully.

Visiting the Red God, Qayin, at Samhain

 

You open your eyes to see that you sitting in a large, freshly harvested field. The damp earth is stubbled with the stalks of the grains that have been hewn down, the farmer’s scythe resting on a nearby fence. Looking to the West, you see the Sun sinking toward a large pond.

You rise and start walking toward the pond, squelching through the muddy field. The trees that border both the field and pond have nearly dropped all of their leaves, but a few brightly colored ones still cling to the barren branches.

A movement from above startles your attention skyward, and you see a crane in flight. He is joined by two others, and they make great swooping circles in the sky – forming a triskele, spirals, and great arcs. One breaks formation and dives toward the pond, and you follow him to the water’s edge. As you approach the bank, you see him standing on the edge of the water. You are surprised by his height and the uncanny way in which he stands. He regards you as you come close, still giving him a wide berth.

The crane turns his head upon his long neck, and you follow his gaze. There is a rowboat in the pond very near to where you are standing. You climb in head for the opposite shore. The sun is now very low in the sky, and you hear frog-song and the croak of many toads about you in the marshy reaches of the water. When you reach the western shore of the pond, you see a large, fat toad hopping just in front of you before disappearing into dark grey stones of a cemetery ahead.

You enter the graveyard, aware of the damp wind and the solitary Elder tree standing sentinel on the border of the plot. You read the names on a few of the mossy stones until your attention is drawn to a cairn some distance ahead. You can see that a three-legged dolmen forms the entry way, and you walk toward it, unable to see past the darkness of the doorway. This is the Western Gate, and you know that beyond it lies the Realm of the Dead. This gateway has strange markings and symbols carved into the stones. Some are unfamiliar to you, but other have deep meaning in your mind. (Pause.) You see a toad carved into one of the rocks along with the Elder tree rune, a crane, and a triskele.

Your eyes adjust to the gloom of the cairn as you pass beyond the arch, and you can see stone stair spiraling down in a left-hand circle. You follow them carefully and discover a torch set into a bracket a few feet ahead. Holding it ahead of you, you circle down and down and down into the deep belly of the graveyard until you reach a cavern that opens into a great room of stone and earth. You recognize this place as a forge, though there is no clinking of metal upon metal. The great bellows are still and no forge-fire brightens the room. The tools are neatly stored away, and you are met with silence. All is dark and quiet, and only the light of your torch reveals the large hooded and cloaked figure sitting on bench near a brimming barrel of water. A few doors and earthen pathways open into this room, and you realize that there is more than way to access this place.

The large figure holds out his hand to you, beckoning you forward. Standing before him, you can see that his face is painted as white as Death, and the outstretched hand is decorated with white bones upon his coal-black skin. A helm rests at his feet very near the quench tank.

His eyes glint from beneath his hood, and he holds you in a piercing stare.

He speaks to you. “This is a place of transformation, of alchemy, holds great power and Mystery even when it is dark and cool and quiet. The spark of life is wedded to the watery womb that is also the tomb of the world.”

He scoops water from the barrel with the helmet and places it within your hands. The helm is cold and hard, and the water within looks black and deep. Holding his hands over yours, he looks into your eyes and speaks a message only for you. (Long pause.)

You thank him, and after a moment more of looking at you, he resumes his takes the helmet from you and draws his hood lower over his face. Knowing that the time has come to leave, you turn and walk back up the stairs that brought you here, curving on a right-hand path now toward the darkening night.

You pass out of the cairn and cross the graveyard and pond where the crane and Elder tree each stand guard. The frogs and toads croak in the pond as you return to the harvested field. Sitting down again in the damp and stubbly field, you close your eyes and breathe deeply, coming back to yourself.

Qayin Lore -- Melek Taus, Lucifer, Azazel, Shamash

Melek Taus

All Gods are not one God. The Ancients didn't see it that way, and we are not trying to put forth that claim, either. And yet, there are Gods -- great, ancient spirits (daemons ... δαίμων) who are so closely related in myth and religion that we can't mistake their relation. Just as a Red Thread connects us to the Witchfather who brought the Cunning Fire to humanity, so too does the Red Thread connect many of beings from whom mankind has sought wisdom.

This is our experience with Azazel (who is called a demon -- literally, a "spirit"-- and an angel -- "messenger"), Qayin/Cain and Tubal Cain, as we've expressed in other posts. Very directly, in our communications with the Witchfather, he uses these names of himself almost interchangeably, and we have come to use them the same way.

There are other sources of information, though, that inform our understanding of Qayin-Azazel, and we'd like to share them.


Melek Taus

"Melek" means "king" or "angel" and "taus" means "peacock." The peacock angel is the central figure, the benevolent and creative demiurge, of the Yezidis. He is seen as repentant after the fall from God's grace, his tears quenching the fires of hell.

Though the Yezidis would disagree, others in the Arabic world (particularly those practicing Islam), equate melek Taus with Lucifer or Satan. Kabbalistically, Yahweh rules in the heavenly/spiritual kingdom of Kether, and Melek Taus (Lucifer/Azazel) rules in the earthly kingdom of Malkuth.

Within the sacred text of the Yezidis, the Black Book, specific reference is made to Azazel, equating the Peacock Angel with Azazel. There are several versions of this book extent from the Middle Ages, copies transcribed online.

Alchemical Symbol for Antimony

Azazel and Alchemy


We have touched on Azazel before, but there are some specific and noteworthy things to share about Azazel's connection to alchemical lore.

Enoch reveals to us that Azazel shares with humanity "all the metals and the art of working them...and the use of antimony." As it turns out, antimony (or stibium), was critical to the alchemical process of creating the Philosopher's Stone. This same element was called kuhl (or kohl) by the ancient Arabs. (You might also recall references to women decorating their eyes with this substance, and that art also being taught by Azazel. This may, in fact, have been a veiled reference to the alchemical process and not to cosmetics at all.)

Sir Roger Bacon tells us that when antimony is processed with vitriol, it is reduced to a "noble red oil" with all of the lesser sulfur having been purified out of it in the process. Red, then, is Azazel's color.

It is doubly his color when we consider that man is made from red clay, according to Middle Eastern tradition, and that Azazel is master of the material world from which man is made.



Lucifer


Oh my Holy Goat, there is so much that needs to be said about Lucifer in relation to the Witchfather. There is so much dross to sift through, so much misinformation that has been propogated about this one figure over the millenia, to reach the golden kernels of wisdom.

For now, let's keep it very simple, shall we?

Lucifer is the "light-bearer." He is Qayin in the East, the Morning Star. He is the torch-bearer of wisdom, inspiration, the Divine Spark, the Cunning Fire.

He is "Prometheus" (literally, "fore-sight"), who rebelled against God (the Gods) to give Fire (the Cunning Fire) to mankind and fell from Divine Grace.


Utu/Shamash

The Nephilim, the "Fallen Angels" or spirits who descended into the material realm to interact with and guide mankind, were first seen as the "Shining Ones" or Gods of Sumerian lore. We've mentioned them before, and we'll write more about them in future posts, but for now, I'd just like to make the connection between Utu/Shamash and Azazel.

It's not a new connection. We're not the first to have made it, by any stretch. You can read this account, for starters. (There's lots of information there about goetic daemons and their counterparts in other lore.)

Utu is the Sumerian name, while Shamash is the Babylonian name for the Sun God of justice,law and salvation. He is linked in a triad with the Nannar-Sin (the Mood God) and Ishtar (the fertility-Earth Goddess, who incidentally is represented by the planet Venus, the Morning and Evening Star).

Ishtar and Shamash are divine twins.

Meditation: Visiting the Red God, Qayin, at Beltaine

Our tradition uses guided meditation to help impress certain symbols on our members' consciousness. Below is our Beltaine meditation. It takes place at the Eastern Gate of the compass, the place of fire and sunrise.  It is the home of the Witch Father, whom we know as Tubal Qayin, Lucifer, Azazel, Melek Taus. To use this meditation let yourself relax comfortably and picture yourself drifting downward and inward to the third realm, the lower realm. The third realm is a place of darkness and mystery.  Let yourself sink down into the third realm and rest there peacefully.

Meditation: Visiting the Red God, Qayin

You awake in a broad, newly plowed field just before sunrise. The world to the West is still dark, murky and sleepy-looking, while to your East a fiery sun is beginning to rise on the pale lanscape. The chill of an early spring morning clings to you. The soil beneath you is rich and dark, marked in deep furrows from the plow. The fertile, damp smell of the land fills your nose as you breathe deeply and begin walking toward the East, toward the growing light.

A fence with a gate is ahead of you across the field, and you can hear the lowing of cattle now. As you get closer, you can see the shapes of the cows becoming clearer. You open the gate and cross into the grassy pasture where the cows graze and move lazily. They watch you intermittently as you continue across their field. One of the cattle watches you intensely, but it is no cow. This bull shifts his weight impatiently while keeping his gaze fixed on you. You continue your path across the field, hurrying as the sun continues to rise, and light and heat start perking up the countryside.

A hedge of dense, knotted Hawthorn trees spreads along the next fence, and you spot the gate in its midst. You cross through the old farm gate as you take notice of the trees. Their bright white blooms and long thorns both welcome and warn.

In the glinting light of the sunrise, you see bees bobbing and buzzing along the Hawthorns. You watch them dance as they work. One lands lightly on your hand, and you know that it has no intention of stinging you. Raising your hand to eye level, you look at the tiny creature for a moment. Its feet tickle your hand, making your skin twitch, and it flies away to the East, where you lose sight of it in the now bright sunrise.

Looking along the landscape in the direction that the bee flew, you see a mound of earth. As you focus your attention on it, you’re certain you hear a clinking sound, as well. Curious, you continue your eastward path until you find yourself standing in front of a small hill with a stony cave door. Strange markings have been carved and painted onto the stones around the mouth of the cave and you take a moment to look at them.

You’re certain now that the sounds you heard came from within the cave, and you can see the glow of firelight coming from deep within. The wet, mustiness of the cave’s scent is mixed with the smell of burning coals, here.

The cave path is smooth and descends slightly as it curves naturally to the left. The sounds have grown distinctly louder since you first heard them. No longer a vague clinking, you now hear the rhythmic beating of metal against metal – tap, tap, bang; tap, tap, bang. The cave is both hot and bright here, and as you round the last corner, you see a large chamber filled with both the glinting metal of finished projects and the carbon-blackened metal of work waiting to be done. Plowshares and picthforks lean against one wall, accompanied by spears and swords. In a far corner, you see the glint of gold and silver wrought into fine filigrees and tooled with delicate markings. You also see pieces of unshaped, untouched metal, dull but full of potential

A fire in a ringed enclosure dominates the middle of the room, and a large man is silhouetted by its flame. His skin looks burnished from the heat and soot, and you watch as his powerful form easily handles the bellows, the large hammer upon the massive anvil.

His eyes glint as he sees you, and he holds you in a piercing stare, though he doesn’t stop his movement and work. Tap, tap, bang; tap, tap, bang. You notice the metal in his hands and you recognize what he is making. He places the object back into the forge fire, allowing it to regain a red-hot glow before removing it again.  Tap, tap, bang.

Still working, he speaks to you. “The forge of the Witch Father holds much magic and mystery. This is a place of transformation, of alchemy, of great power.”

He beckons you toward him and places your hand upon the anvil. It is very hot, but it doesn’t burn you. Holding your hand upon the anvil with his own, he looks into your eyes and speaks a message only for you.

You thank him, and after a moment more of looking at you, he resumes his work. Knowing that the time has come to leave, you turn and walk back up the cave path, curving on a right-hand path now toward the fresh air and daylight.

You pass again by the bees, busy in the Hawthorns, and by the cattle in their pasture. Returning to the plowed field, you take a moment before sitting down in the rich soil. You close your eyes and breathe deeply, coming back to yourself.

Tubal Cain: an Introduction

Names
Tubal Cain, T'Cain, Qayin, Qābīl, Kain, Vulcan, Hephaestus, Wayland, Gobannus, Atho, Janus, Óss, Azazel, Azazil, Melek Taus, Lugh

Stations of the Wheel
East and West, Samhain and Beltane, October & May, Gates of Fire and Water, Blood and Merry Moons

Totems
Cow, Hawthorn, Bee (May) Toad, Elder, Crane (October)

Tools
Sword, Stang, Shelg, Anvil

Of special interest to Witches is the concept of the Smithing God. Metalsmiths were among the first alchemists, and, by virtue of their powers of transmutation of ore into steel, they were once credited with magical powers. Blacksmiths were considered the mages par excellence of this group, and today we find iron horseshoes (iron ore transformed into the God's horns) prized as good luck symbols. The Smithing God is often associated with lameness, which is attributed to a folk practice of laming the village smith so that such an important member of society could not leave. The shambling step of the lamed God is echoed in the most basic Witch dances.

Tubal Cain appears to mean "he who spices the craft of Cain." Gordon Wenham suggests that the name "Cain" means "smith”, or that he is called "Tubal Cain" in order to distinguish him from the other Tubal, the son of Japheth. Henry Morris suggests that etymologically, his name is "the progenitor of the name of the Roman God Vulcan."  Tubal Cain is sometimes thought to be the progenitor of the Celtic peoples.  He is the “first ancestor” and the Witchfather.

Genesis 4:22 says that Tubal Cain was the "forger of all instruments of bronze and iron" or an "instructer of every artificer in brass and iron". Although this may mean he was a metalsmith, a comparison with verses 20 and 21 suggests that he may have been the very first artificer in brass and iron. T. C. Mitchell suggests that he "discovered the possibilities of cold forging native copper and meteoric iron." Tubal-cain has even been described as the first chemist.

According to the Book of Enoch, which brings Azazel into connection with the Biblical story of the fall of the angels, located on Mount Hermon, a gathering-place of demons from of old.  Azazel is represented in the Book of Enoch as one of the leaders of the rebellious Watchers in the time preceding the flood; he taught men the art of warfare, of making swords, knives, shields, and coats of mail, and women the art of deception by ornamenting the body, dying the hair, and painting the face and the eyebrows, and also revealed to the people the secrets of witchcraft and corrupted their manners, leading them into wickedness and impurity.

According to Luciferian tradition, Azazel and Tubal Cain are the same entity.  Azazel having chosen Tubal Cain as his earthly vessel when he lead the rebellion of the fallen angels.  Tubal Cain is of the line of Cain, through his father Lamach, marking him with the holy blood of Lucifer.  By teaching the daughters of man witchcraft, Azazel/Tubal Cain became the Witchfather.

Prayer of Cain Al' Shajarat
(or Tree/Green Cain, Master of the Forge)

Holy Master,
First and Most Cunning of Tillers
By fragrant smokes
And the power of Thy name
I hallow Furnace, Forge, and Flame:
Cain Al' Shajarat,
Sa'Ira, Sa'Ira, Sa'Ira.


Holy Master,
Unto the Craft of the Green
And the Spirits of the Wise
Bear thou from shadow Celestial Fire
And cause the Dead the rise:
Cain Al' Shajarat,
Sa'Ira, Sa'Ira, Sa'Ira.


Holy Master,
Nine times they Name be sung;
Temper these hands and their Work
In thy Fornax and Forge
For Thine is The Kingdom!
Cain Al' Shajarat,
Sa'Ira, Sa'Ira, Sa'Ira.

~Ars Philtron by Daniel A. Schulke

http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/8168/showrashi/true
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azazel
http://www.thevesselofgod.com/theluciferianlegacy.html

The Line of Cain

Are Cain, Tubal Cain, and Azazel the same entity?  Yes!   And no...

Cain, Son of Eve

Cain/Qayin is the son of Eve through the serpent, Ha-satan. In Genesis when Eve says "I have begotten a man with the Lord" she is referring to Lord Satan-Lucifer.  His brother Abel was the son of Adam and Eve, a creature of clay made flesh, whereas Cain was a creature of spirit made flesh.

Cain was the first to till the earth and harvest plant matter. For this reason he is known as the Lord of the Green Kingdom.  While Cain harvested plants, Abel shepherded flocks of beasts.  When the time came for Cain and Abel to make offerings to Yahweh Abel's offerings of blood pleased Yahweh, but Cain's offerings of burnt plants did not.

It was for this slight in the eyes of Yahweh that Cain killed Abel.  Cain offered forth his most cherished gift of blood (his own brother) to Yahweh.  Abel's blood watered the field and made it fertile. The Necrosophic tradition claims that the blood of Abel that 'watered' the garden also empowered it, making the plants within linked to the bloodline of Cain. This is also the origin of plant spirits or the "Black in Green."

Because of the fact that Cain was the first murderer of man, he eventually became the reaper.  He is the Lord of the Western realms, and the guide of the dead.  Cain was also marked for his crime, and it is this mark (the Witches' Mark) that all children of Cain carry, though in diluted form.

Azazel and Tubal Cain

Azazel was chief among the angels in the story of The Fall of the B'nai Elohim in the Book of Enoch.  The B'nai Elohim is a term that refers to angels. It occurs four times in the Old Testament and is rendered "Angels of God" in the ancient Septuagin translation. These fallen angels, or Watchers, descended to the realm of matter (earth) where they took the descendants of Cain as human vessels. They took women as their wives, taught them, witchcraft and other skills. Azazel took Tubal-Cain, the blacksmith, as his vessel and further improved the arts of smith craft and witchery. Naamah was the human vessel of Nahema-Lilith (Lilith the younger or Lilith's daughter).


The Nephilim

The children of the watchers were the giants known as the Nephilim, which derives from the Hebrew naphal (to fall), or the Fallen Ones. (The Greek Septuagint renders this term gigantes, which actually means "earth-born." This is often misunderstood to mean "giants".  They were marked by extra teeth, extra fingers and toes, double crowned skulls, giant-ism, and other traits that future generations would interpret as witch marks.

The Watchers were originally the four stars Aldebaran (the East), Regulus (the South), Antares (the West), and Fomalhaut (the North).  Witches then, are those who can trace their bloodline to Cain -- the Red Thread -- and are the children of the stars.

For more information:
http://theisticsatanism.com/CoEvan/arguments/henotheism/Devil.html
http://www.ixaxaar.com/

Widdershins, Sunwise, and Calling the Circle

Because we have set out to make this a family tradition, sometimes our daughter comes to us with questions that we have taken for granted.  Earlier this week she asked us about what widdershins means and what it is used for.

Widdershins (sometimes withershins, widershins or widderschynnes) means to take a course opposite the apparent motion of the sun, to go anticlockwise or lefthandwise, or to circle an object by always keeping it on the left.[1] The Oxford English Dictionary's entry cites the earliest uses of the word from 1513, where it was found in the phrase "widdersyns start my hair", i.e. my hair stood on end.

The use of the word also means "in a direction opposite to the usual", and in a direction contrary to the apparent course of the sun. It is cognate with the German language widersinnig, i.e., "against" + "sense". The term "widdershins" was especially common in Lowland Scots.

~Wikipedia "Widdershins"

There are many groups that choose to work either exclusively widdershins -- especially those that tread the mill -- or its opposite, sunwise (also known as deosil).  

 In Scottish folklore, Sunwise or Sunward was considered the “prosperous course”, turning from east to west in the direction of the sun. The opposite course was known in Scotland as widdershins (Lowland Scots), or tuathal (Scottish Gaelic, lit. northerly), and would have been counterclockwise. It is perhaps no coincidence that, in the Northern Hemisphere, "sunwise" and "clockwise" run in the same direction. This is probably because of the use of the sun as a timekeeper on sundials etc., whose features were in turn transferred to clock faces themselves. Another influence may also have been the right-handed bias in many human cultures.

This is descriptive of the ceremony observed by the druids, of walking round their temples by the south, in the course of their directions, always keeping their temples on their right. This course (deiseal) was deemed propitious, the contrary course, tuathal, fatal, or at least, unpropitious. From this ancient superstition are derived several Gaelic customs which were still observed around the turn of the twentieth century, such as drinking over the left thumb, as Toland expresses it, or according to the course of the sun. Wicca uses the idiosyncratic spelling deosil - however, this is not used in any of the three Gaelic languages.

~Wikipedia "Sunwise"

 We choose to tread the mill in both directions, depending on the nature of the rite.  We use the mill to lead us either up and out or down and within.  When treading sunwise, the energy rises upward spiraling us into the first realm, Ceugent. Treading widdershins brings the energy down into the land where we can access the third realm, Abred.  Neither of these movements is more desirable than the other, they are both as necessary and as benign as the positive and negative poles of a magnet.  

So, when casting the caim by calling in the gates and castles of the circle which way direction do we choose?  Many traditions call sunwise and dismiss widdershins, but we work the circle in a completely different pattern.

When casting the caim we call inward towards the Spiral Castle.  We call the gates and castles two-by-two to create the old straight track that joins each gate to the center like the spokes of a wheel. 

The circle is thrice cast, as of old, but by the power of the gates and guardians, not by the power of ourselves as casters.  The circle is cast not to hold energy out or even in, but to sain the space.

First we call to the realms, Ceugent above, Gwyned between, and Abred below.  This is the first circle. 

Next we call by honoring the station that the Spiral Castle is turned to in the year wheel.  Therefore, since it is now March as I write this, and the Spiral Castle is open to face the Spring Equinox, we would begin by calling the Castle of Revelry, acknowledging its treasure, the Golden Lantern, and its sovereign, the Golden Queen.  We would then call along the Path of the Queens across to the Castle Perilous, home of the Silver Queen and the Holy Grail.  We continue by calling along the Path of the Kings to the Stone Castle and the Glass Castle.  Each of these paths meet in the center at the stang, or Spiral Castle.  This is the second circle.

The third circle is that of the gates, or Airts, where we call to the four elemental quarters and the Great Gods of our Tradition.  We call to the White Goddess and the Black Goddess through the South and North gates, homes of Earth and Air.  This is the Path of the Rose-Painted Wagon, which is a mystery.

We then call along the Path of the Sun, East to West, dawn to twilight, the road of Tubal Cain.  In the East shines Lucifer/Malek Taus/Azazel, light-bringer, lord of creation and inspiration.  Tubal Cain stokes the forge and the sun rises, the cunning fire rises, the light of reason rises.  Fire blazes forth from the Eastern gate, filling us with warmth and force of Will. 

We echo that calling to Tubal Cain in the West, Lord of the quench tank.  Here Tubal Cain is the Dark Lord of Death and Magic, who peacefully shepherds those beyond the veil, and raucously leads out the Wild Hunt.  He comes from the Western gate, place of Water, land of the setting sun, place of the Blessed Isle of Avalon.  Here lies the weapon of the helm, the mask, the Helkapp by which Death comes silent and invisible.

Thus is the third circle cast. 

Together the three circles, sending out rays in all directions: above and below, north and south, east and west, and all places between, build the Spiral Castle, the stang which we use as a gandreigh to travel out to each of the realms, and all of the places between.

By treading the mill sunwise or widdershins we can travel out or send forth energy to wherever and whenever we choose, guarded by our Gods, and the Watchtowers of legend.

Tubal Cain (song)

"Tubal Cain" (circa 1846-56)
The Words by Charles Mackay, Esq.
The Music Composed and Sung by Henry Russell, 1812-1900.
[pages 81-88 from "One Hundred Songs by Henry Russell" (?)]


1.
Old Tubal Cain was a man of might,
In the days when Earth was young;
By the fierce red light of his furnace bright,
The strokes of his hammer rung,
And he lifted high his brawny hand
On the iron, glowing clear,
Till the sparks rush’d out in scarlet rout,
As he fashion’d the sword and spear;
And he sang “Hura! for my handiwork!
Hurra for the spear and sword!
Hurra for the hand that shall wield them well,
For he shall be King and Lord!”

2.
To Tubal Cain came many a one,
As he wrought by his roaring fire,
And each one pray’d for a strong steel blade,
As the crown of his own desire;
And he made them weapons sharp and strong
Till they shouted loud for glee,
And gave him gifts of pearls and gold,
And spoils of the forest free;
And they sang “Hurra for Tubal Cain
Who hath giv’n us strength anew­­
Hurra for the smith! hurra for the fire!
And hurra for the metal true!”

3.
But a sudden change come o’re his head
Ere the setting of the sun;
And Tubal Cain was fill’d with pain
For the evil he had done;
He saw that men, with rage and hate,
Made war upon their kind;
And the land was red with the blood they shed
In their lust for carnage blind;
And he said “Alas! that ever I made,
Or that skill of mine should plan,
The spear and the sword for men whose joy
Is to slay their fellow man!”
 

Get it? Two ball cane. It's a masonic pin.

4.
And for many a day old Tubal Cain
Sat brooding o’er his woe;
And his hand forbore to smite the ore,
And his furnace smoulder’d low:
And he rose at last with a cheerful face,
And a bright courageous eye,
And bar’d his strong right arm for work,
While the quick flames mounted high;
And he sang “Hurra for my handiwork!
And the red sparks lit the air,­­
Not alone for the blade was the bright steel made,”
And he fashion’d the first ploughshare.

5.
And men, taught wisdom from the past,
In friendship join’d their hands,­­
Hung the sword in the hall, the spear on the wall,
And plough’d the willing lands;
And sang “Hurra for Tubal Cain,
Our staunch good friend is he;
And for the ploughshare, and the plough,
To him our praise shall be.
But while oppression lifts its head,
Or a tyrant would be lord,
Though we may thank him for the plough,
We’ll not forget the sword.”

The Witches' Stang

The stang is the central tool and main altar of our tradition. A stang, in its most basic form is simply a forked stick set with its long end into the ground. It acts as an axis on which magic can turn, and as a pole that can be "ridden" by the shaman or witch into different realms. Its forks represent the horns of the Witch Lord.

The stang entered modern Craft by the hand of Robert Cochrane, who called it as "sacred to the People as the Crucifix is to the Christians."  I've written about Cochrane's use of the stang in my July 2011 post on Treading the Mill.

The stang is sometimes represented by a iron-tined pitchfork or a pole with the skull of a horned beast on it. Often in these configurations there will be a candle or torch lit between the two horns or tines, in the style of the icon of Baphomet, or as is shown in this woodcut from 1594 of a sabbat at Treves.

The Horned God with the cunning light between his horns.

Any wood is suitable for use as a stang, although ash, with its connections to Yggdrasill, the tree on which Odin was hung shaman-like for nine days, is a popular choice. Our own stang is based on Him that we honor as the Witch Lord, T'Qain. It is therefore represented by a ram's skull.  It represents both His presence and the Spiral Castle.

Although not as popular as motif as, say, riding a broomstick, there are many examples of witches using the stang to fly in early woodcuts as is shown by the examples below.

Using the stang to carry a cauldron while riding backwards on a goat. It has all the things. ;)

A masked family flies out on their stang.

A witch and her demonic familiar fly to the clouds on a stang.

The stang has antecedents in the Yggdrasill of Norse lore, the Poteau Mitan of Haitian Voudon, and the ascending-pole birch tree of the Yakut shamans.  It is both a world-pillar on which the cosmos (represented by the witches compass) turns and a gandreigh.

Admit it. You want to try out magic with a stang.

For more information I suggest reading the writings of Robert Cochrane, and Nigel Jackson and exploring the links below.

How to Use a Stang
A Special One, But Still a Pole
Posts Labeled "Stang" from This Blog

The Red Thread (and the Initiatory Process)

I have the sense that the Red Thread is one of the deeper Mysteries of the Craft as we are coming to know it. This sense is based on the fact that both Glaux and I find ourselves referring to it regularly in symbolic ways and during Craft discussions, but I am having difficulty putting my thoughts together in any coherent manner in this blog entry. The fact that we are able to point to the symbol as a deep point of connection for our magic, but verbalization seems to fail on some level, tells me that "here be a grave Mystery."

Perhaps in order to approach the Mystery, we should only look at one aspect of it in this post. The Red Thread and the Initiatory Process. 

The "Red Thread" is the moniker we use to refer to the line of Witch Blood that connects us to Tubal Qayin. A few of us come to this Tradition with ties to Qayin, bonds or possibly even Witch Marks that we reinforce through charms or the process of admission into a curveen. Many create that link through specific ritual.

Our system of admission is actually quite simple. We have a beginning level which we call Greening. I'll reserve full discussion of this level for another post, but I'll say here that this is the level for "children" within this path -- whether literal or figurative.

Next is Adoption, and it is at this time when the Red Thread is linked. This Tradition is linked very intimately to flow and nature of the family, so the Adoption corresponds to the time of puberty. When a child has come into physical, mental and emotional maturity sufficient for the study of basic magic, she may be brought into her Craft family. When a Seeker, regardless of physical age, has passed the period of initial giddiness and done some serious work and review of his aims as a Witch, he too is eligible for adoption into the Craft family.

The goals of the Adoption Rite (which you can also think of as a Dedication) are to forge a formal magical link between the student and the coven and to establish a formal training period of at least a year and a day. (This period is until the age of adulthood, in the case of family trad practitioners performing the Adoption with teens and tweens.)

This rite can happen at any of the Gates or Castles. In other words, it can happen at any Sabbat.

During the course of the ritual, the candidate is challenged and queried by the curveen members. Provided that she meets with approval at the end of all challenges, she will take blood oath on the anvil. There are two points to make note of here: 1) participation in the ritual doesn't guarantee success; and 2) the anvil is the "oath stone" of the Tradition and is intimately linked in symbolic terms to Tubal Qayin. 

The candidate is given a Red Cord to wear at the waist, which is a reminder of the Red Thread itself, the umbilical cord, and the fire of Qayin's forge. He is also given a bone and silver ring, which is symbolic of the bone soul (intimately related to the Red Thread and the Ancestors). The ring should be fitted to the Witch's index finger in his power hand, as this is the ultimate location where he will be tattooed with the Stang (or Witch's Mark) at his Raising.

Laying the Compass

(This post has been edited, as of Oct 12, 2013 to reflect how we have grown into the laying of the compass.)

Most modern witches have been taught to work in a circle.  The circle is an organic shape that places each of its members as equals.  Energy flows smoothly when directed in a circle, and the circle serves as both container and barrier for various energies.

In our tradition we also work in a circle, although its creation and its purpose differ from the Wiccan circle.  Whereas Wicca has been influenced by Ceremonial Magical traditions to cast a circle to serve as a metaphysical protection from outside energies, we view the circle as a kind of cauldron. It is a container to intensify and direct energy from.

Wiccan circles are cast three times, once with salt and water, once with fire and incense, and once with steel (an athame or sword). Our circles are cast by calling in the three spheres/circles of power and protection -- the Realms, the Gates (Quarters), and the Castles (Watchtowers).

The cutting of the boundary is less important than the laying of the compass.  By laying the compass we invite the wards and energies of all of the realms and directions to be present in our circle. In our tradition we base the laying of the compass on our year wheel, and we call Powers that lie opposite each other as a pair. So for example, when calling the Gates, we call North, then South -- both being called toward the center of the circle. Thus, they form a road or an energetic pathway, with the Stang as the center point. The we would do the same with East and West, which creates two crossed roads.

We begin at the center of the compass and raise the stang.  The stang serves as the world tree and connects the three realms of upper, middle, and lower.  If we are going to voice the calls, we speak an evocation to the 3 Realms -- Upper, Middle, and Lower. At the base of the stang is the oath stone, or anvil.  It is on this stone that we make our blood oaths to the tradition and through which we call forth Tubal Cain.  Near the oath stone are the cauldron and the skull.  These represent the mysteries of life and death, and tie us to our ancestors.  Also placed at the center of the compass are the personal fetishes of each member of our Clan, and the three knives.

With the raising of the Stang and the calling of the Realms, the 1st Circle is cast.

Then we begin calling the next circle, which can either be the Elemental Gates or the Castle-Watchtowers. This really is up to you (or perhaps you will base it on the time of year. We often begin with whichever part of the Year Wheel we are actually in  -- so, Castle Perilous would be the first thing called, if we were closest to the Fall Equinox, West Gate if we were at Samhain. If you call a Castle, its opposite across the Circle should be next, followed by the remaining two Castles. The same philosophy applies to Gates. Call them as opposite pairs, as siblings, as light and dark halves of each other.)

For this example, we are going to call the Gates as our 2nd Circle, beginning in the North.

At the north gate are placed the staves of the coven, along with the spear, and the troy stone, or gate stone. Also at this gate are symbols of the Black Goddess (including a lily) and totemic pieces associated with her.  Thus, an owl's feather, fur from a cat, and a stave of willow are all acceptable here. Any tools associated with air are kept at this gate, such as the censer if one is used. If the scourge is to be used it is also placed at the north gate.

The south is the gate of the White Goddess.  At her gate are placed red roses.  The weapon kept here is the targe, tool of earth.  The binding cords and the bread for the red meal are placed at this gate.  Horsehair, apples, and swan feathers are all symbols for this gate.

In the east are the tools of fire.  Here we place the blacksmith's trade (hammer and tongs) and keep a bonfire burning, if we are outdoors.  The coven sword is here, as is appropriate to a weapon of steel. This is the home of bull, hawthorn, and bee, so offering of honey, or mead in cow horns is appropriate. Also kept here are offerings for Tubal Cain, such as dark beer.

The west is the gate of water.  It is the quench tank of Tubal Cain. Representations of water are placed here, along with toad, and crane. Elder is only brought into the circle for certain dark magics.  The weapon of this gate is the helm, and the masks of the Clan are kept here.

Whether you speak words, silently call, dance, etc. is up to you. But having called the Gates, the 2nd Circle is now cast.

Now, we call the 3rd and final circle, that of the Castles.

At the north-east is the Castle of Revelry.  Here we place the lantern of inspiration and the broom. The totems are hare, birch, and goose, so a goose feather, a rabbit's foot, and some birch bark are all good to place here.  Also, if you can procure a model of a castle painted gold it would be well to place it here.

In the southwest is kept the silver chalice or quaiche, along with the red wine that it will hold.  Hawk feathers, vines, and representations of the boar or sow are also placed here.  The Castle Perilous is represented in miniature as a castle painted black with red accents.

At the northwest corner is the Glass Castle.  It is represented by the serpent's egg, or glass orb.  The totems are goat, holly, and wren.  Tools of divination are kept in this castle.  It would be nice if you can find or commission a small castle made of blown glass to place here.

The south-east is the home of the Stone Castle.  The stone bowl and the casting stones are kept here, along with stag horns, acorns, and oak staves.  A model fortress painted grey, or appearing to be made of stone, is placed here.

The 3rd Circle is now cast, at which point we usually acknowledge once more the center-point of the Compass, the Stang, the Spiral Castle, which opens into every place and is at the crossroads.

Thus is the compass laid. It may be as elaborate or as spartan as your tastes and needs dictate. Although the instructions above explain the placement of all of the gates, treasures, tools, weapons, and totems, simply treading the mill once and acknowledging the four gates and the four castles, along with their rulers, is enough to lay the compass.

The Lame Step

The "lame step" is one of the old and identifying markers of Witches and of their God. And their Goddess. Nursery rhymes show us the evidence of the lame step in magic, the Forge God (the first and mightiest God of the CRAFT) is more often lamed than not, and the Witches' Goddess  hobbled on a goose's foot.

Let's look at these examples, and then, let's look at what the lamed step signifies.

Azazel (T'Qayin)

The Forge God and the Lame Step

The lame step could be said to originate, as it relates to magic, with the God of the Forge. As Glaux pointed out in her post regarding Witch Blood and Witch Marks, the first being worshiped as a Forge God has been linked to magic. (In his book Masks of Misrule, Nigel Jackson notes his assertion that T'Qayin and Azazel are the same being.) Nearly all Forge Gods were depicted with a lame step or a misshapen leg in antiquity. The mundane reason for this was very likely due to the residual heavy metal poisoning suffered by actual smiths -- or the fact that otherwise strong men who had suffered some crippling childhood disease or injury could still be trained to blacksmith work. Whatever the case, the image of the smith is intimately linked with that of hobbled or ham-strung, yet powerful, man. A man who understands something (and potentially EVERYTHING) related to the alchemical process, and therefore magic. In the case of T'Qayin and Azazel, this image is that of a goat-footed God.

The goat-foot is one variation of lame step, and it is very intimately linked to the forge. That heavy metal poisoning we discussed bunched the muscles of the leg in a way that it pulled the smith's legs and foot up into a position like he was walking on a stiletto heel. Goat-footed God.

The Goose-Footed Goddess

Goose-Foot

The lame step appears again in the Witches' Goddess in at least one instance. In France, there is a notable story of La Reine Pedauque, the goose-footed queen. Though there is some casual optimism that her story is based a historical queen (named Berthe, who loved spinning fanciful tales for children), the goose-foot is never satisfactorily explained. What is absolutely clear is that La Reine Pedauque becomes (or always was) Mother Goose. Clearer still, with even a little digging and reflecting, is that Mother Goose, is so closely related to the Teutonic Hulda that they are reflections of one another.

Frau Hulda, Mother Hulda, Holda, Holle, Hel. She rides a goose through the night sky and is a spinner. She is the Dark Grandmother and the White Lady. In our Tradition, she sits in the Castle of Revelry at the Spring Equinox, the balance of light and dark and guards the Golden Lantern.

With her goose-foot, she shows us another aspect of the lame step.

The Lame Step in Nursery Rhymes

Cock-a-doodle-do!
Cock-a-doodle-do!
My dame has lost her shoe,
My master's lost his fiddle stick
And knows not what to do.


Cock-a-doodle-do! 
What is my dame to do?
Till master finds his fiddle stick,
she'll dance without her shoe.

Glaux and I love (and I mean LOVE) picking apart nursery rhymes for folkloric Craft clues. We'll have to do some entries dedicated to some of the goodies we've found in them. This one caught our interest on a number of levels. I'll stay away from the bits about how the magister needs his blackthorn staff (the master's fiddle stick) and just point out that the dame is inviting the lame step here. Lots of nursery rhymes feature characters with just one shoe. This forces them to hobble a bit -- like their God, like their Goddess. Here, the dame MUST, but then she goes into it gladly, dancing within the compass.

I can think of three others where characters lose a shoe. In one, the boy goes to bed in his stockings, but missing a shoe. In the second, a girl has lost one of her holiday shoes. In the third, the princess dances out of one of her shoes (and again the fiddler is mentioned). All of these not only point to the lame step, but also to the Witches' Sabbat.

What is the Significance of the Lame Step?

The lame step, we've come to realize, is a marker for those who walk between the worlds. Symbolically, it represents having one foot in consensus reality and one foot in the realms beyond the veil. The lame step is a way of showing that you are between the worlds.

Before we had even made this connection, Glaux and I had decided that the compass would be laid by treading the mill using the lame step.

Papa Ghede

Interestingly, Glaux recently had a discussion with a friend and fellow Witch about the lame step, Ghede's glasses, and bipolar disorder. It turns out that as we look around, a great many of the talented Witches that we know have bipolar, ourselves included. How much is this yet another variant on the lame step? The disorder is a hindrance in Mundania, and it is a trial, but it forces us to see things differently and to live  with a foot in two realms. It is a difficult balance, and our friend pointed out that we always have to be wary of getting too much information from one side or the other. Something to consider.

Witch Marks, Witch Blood, and the Kuthun

Witch Marks

Some witches are born with a special mark upon them that singles then out as a person gifted with power.  Some traditional variations on this mark include: a specially shaped birthmark, a supernumerary nipple, polydactylism, red hair, extra teeth, and being born with a caul (a portion of the birth sac over the head).

Witch marks are created at certain rites of passage within our tradition.  They consist of a special symbol marked on the body, either astrally or physically, as in a tattoo.  Both the symbol and its placement of the body are significant to our tradition.

Witch Blood

Some witches claim blood lineage from witches who have gone before.  This is known as possessing witch blood.  It is based on a very ancient notion from the book of Enoch that T'Qayin once mixed his seed with that of the daughters of Adam, producing a race of supernaturally gifted beings.  These beings are sometimes referred to as The Watchers.  It is said that this divine spark runs through the veins and sings from the bones of every witch.  Remember that you are made of the same materials as the stars, and that magic lives within you.  Even if you cannot trace your familial lineage to that of a known witch, know that through the forging of the Red Thread, the magical link that this tradition creates between you and the Mighty Dead, you share the blood of T'Qayin.

The Kuthun

Is is told that for a witch to pass from this life into the next, she must pass her power on to another.  This provides incentive for teaching the Craft to others, ensuring that our ways do not die with us.  The Kuthun is a tangible object that links the power of a witch to her descendant. It may be a beloved magical tool, a piece of jewelry or regalia, or a formal document of lineage.